Penguins re-sign Sidney Crosby to 2-year, $17.4M extension - ESPN

Sidney Crosby has signed a new two-year contract extension with the Pittsburgh Penguins, ending months of speculation about his future.

Crosby is in the final season of a 12-year contract. The new deal starts in the 2025-26 season and runs through the 2026-27 season, when Crosby will be 39 years old.

The contract carries an annual average value of $8.7 million against the NHL salary cap. It's the same cap hit he has carried on two previous contracts of five and 12 years, and a numerological nod to his birthday (8/7/87) and his jersey number. His contract extension earns him a base salary of $780,000 with a $9 million signing bonus in 2025-26 and a $1.09 million salary and a $6,530,000 signing bonus in 2026-27. The contract carries a full no-movement clause.

Crosby and his representatives had been discussing the shape of this contract for a while, knowing that he had one year left on his current deal. Some speculated the term would be shorter, others speculated it could be in the range of four years with an average value over $10 million. But Crosby landed on two years and $8.7 million AAV as a deal that allows the Penguins flexibility in the short and long term — while acknowledging that Crosby, while still productive, is in the twilight of his NHL career.

«You don't really know the trajectory of everything and how you're going to feel mentally, physically. I think that when you get to this point, you understand that's more of a reality with every year you play. But I think you just kind of check in with that through the year, every year, and evaluate it,» Crosby recently told the Penguins' website.

The Penguins' captain has led his team to three Stanley Cup championships, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in